When it came out some years back that, for the second time in my lifetime, the banks were screwing over the taxpayers, I was aghast that no one seemed to have had any oversight on what they were doing. Even after a taxpayer bailout, bankers lobbied against government regulation.   Saw an article from September 2, 2014 that indicates that US regulators have 2 more key rules to set that will continue more oversight of them. Meanwhile, there was yet a third major banking scandal involving HSBC I still can't think about what the banks did without feeling disgust, and definitely had no desire to go watch the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio that glorified the Wall street stockbrokers 

To bring in one more example. When that fertilizer plant blew up in West, Texas, it came out that the last inspection had been done in 1985. 

While watching the budget and finance committee meeting of 9/9/2014 from video posted online on the Somervell County Hospital District site, I saw Dr Karen Burroughs (who is also president of the 501a Glen Rose Healthcare Inc)  say this regarding looking carefully at the budget.

"Some of us don't believe that this line by line looking at everything is the way the hospital district board is supposed to operate"  

Keep in mind that this comment was made AT THE BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING after being given a good comprehensive budget by Ray Reynolds and Michael Honea. If this committee and later, the full board was NOT to look at the budget line by line, then what is the POINT of HAVING a committee like that or BEING ON a committee like that? Maybe they should spend a few bucks to get a rubber stamp made that says "APPROVED" since it's too much to expect them to want to represent the TAXPAYERS THAT ELECTED THEM? Maybe there are some taxpayers that don't give a hoot HOW an entity that taxes them without their explicit consent spends money. I do. And I"m willing to bet there are a LOT of people in this county who DO care about how their tax money gets spent and want to at least know that the people on the board LOOKED and QUESTIONED and DISCUSSED what was there.  How many people even read the budget cover to cover before going in to vote on it? And shouldn't the people who are elected be the FIRST to champion line by line investigation of every dime? 

The good news about government is everybody doesn't have to walk in lockstep. Just because Dr Burroughs doesn't believe philosophically at looking line by line at a budget doesn't mean that others who are elected have to follow that philosophy. Same thing for the public. I don't necessarily agree with others about a number of things that affect my life, but I'm entitled to have my own opinions, and I have respect for those that realize the world is not a monolith. For me, I want and seek out elected officials who want to *follow the money* and have accountability for those they are actually working for... the taxpaying public.